Green and Gold
by h0ly m0ly
Summary: (Set after Thor: Ragnarok) (A Loki X Dr. Strange Fic) Loki has to serve 'Parole' under the watchful eye of Stephen Strange. Not like he has any other options, but either way he wouldn't complain so much if A) he actually did something other than decipher texts and sort artefacts and B) the one known as Dr Strange wasn't so damn irritating and attractive.
1. Chapter 1

To say the people of Midgard had welcomed him back with open arms was severely inaccurate. Saying they even welcomed him back was an understatement. At least it wasn't like Loki was expecting anything less. These people seemed adverse to the very idea of even a little bloodshed. Well no, that wasn't quite right was it? How it should have been worded was; adverse to the very idea of bloodshed unless it benefited them. There you go, much better.

Midgardians had no sense of honour; not that Loki was seen as having one himself. They all squabbled and preached about right and wrong, about that invisible line one should never cross. Yet the minute crossing that line presented an opportunity or promised to take them down a beneficial path; they bolted over it like all of Jotunheim was after them. Humans claimed to have a moral compass, yet that compass was all back to front and didn't really show the right direction anymore.

Well, Loki probably couldn't say all of Midgard protested his return. He didn't doubt they did, but most of them didn't even realise he was back here yet. Besides the remaining 'Avengers' and a small portion of SHIELD, only a select few knew he'd returned to their beloved Earth. Unfortunately for him, one of those select few happened to be the oh so marvellous 'Sorcerer Supreme.' Whoever came up with that one either lacked imagination or was full of it.

Loki was brought further anguish and eternal damnation by the fact that in order to stay on Earth, he had to serve a Midgardian punishment known as 'Parole' under the care of Strange. What better way to contain a dangerous, homicidal sorcerer than have another sorcerer play babysitter. SHIELD and the pathetic remains of the Avengers seemed to think it was a brilliant plan. The Tin Man... Stark, as Thor insisted he call him; had even placed a bet alongside some other SHIELD agents on the duration of time before Loki or Strange killed one another. Loki hopes Stark didn't place his bet too far into the future, because right now he could kill that smug bastard.

* * *

"You're sure I should not stay?"

"Yes, quite sure" Loki spat rather bitingly back to Thor. His brother huffed in that 'I'm disappointed in you' or 'something bad has happened and it must be you' way he so often did and Loki felt that familiar irritable twitch interacting with Thor brings him. He shouldn't react badly like that though, after all, Thor did wager the security of his people when he defended Loki. The least he can do is try and show Thor he does appreciate the gesture... with Asgard gone, who knows where he would have ended up had his sanctuary here been denied.

"You have responsibilities now. You're King" as much as he tried he couldn't stop the slight bitterness and envy slip out on the word King. He wasn't a Saint. Well, actually... that wasn't a good comparison at all was it? "Responsibilities which I will need help bearing." Thor reminded Loki softly, which as sweet as a gesture it was supposed to be, just made Loki feel more bitter and hollow at what he was never allowed to have.

"The sentimentality is appreciated but not needed. You're doing fine on your own and do not need someone like me." He stated nonchalantly and with a flash of teeth. Thor frowned at him but remained silent the rest of the walk. Things had become somewhat tense between them again once arriving to earth. Whether it was Thor's responsibilities as King, Loki's parole on earth, or the confusing, churning mass of emotions being back on earth brought up for Loki. He was trying to clamp down on it, ignore those nagging feelings which could be guilt or remorse, but he knew some of it showed through and Thor could tell. Well, alongside the envy, anger, displeasure and seething hatred he had no problem expressing at every opportunity.

Loki was snapped out of his thoughts as Thor stopped in front of him. They were at the entrance to what he presumed was Strange's residence. It wasn't as grand or extravagant as he was expecting, not by a long mile for the supposed 'Sorcerer Supreme.' How was anybody supposed to fear or respect this man if he didn't even take pride in his domain? He wasn't impressed to say the least, and was feeling more confident he could snap this mans neck with his pinkie if need be. Not that he wasn't feeling confident before that, no mortal was capable of defeating him after all. He just wasn't sure what Strange was capable of, and by cowering behind a place like this and not displaying his powers and authority to earth, well clearly he wasn't really all that powerful was he? Subtlety was for the weak.

"I suppose I bang this door again, hope he doesn't do that freaky magic thing aga-" Thor's voice was cut off and replaced with a quiet buzz and then a pop as they apparated inside. Loki was met with the queasy feeling in his stomach and disorientating tilt of the world around him. He didn't like to apparate much, it always left him feeling sick and dizzy. He wasn't going to give Strange the satisfaction of knowing that though. Loki set his jaw, lifted his chin and glared defiantly into the blue eyes of Stephen Strange.

"Odinsons" Strange greeted, his eyes staying trained on Thor and completely ignoring Loki. The title alone irked him, let alone the lack of acknowledgement from the other sorcerer. Loki felt his jaw clench. "Ah Strange! Good to see you again, friend!" Thor bellowed whilst dragging Strange into what appeared to be a reluctant hug on his half. Loki thought maybe this was the one miraculous occasion where he and Strange might be able to agree on something, that one meeting didn't really warrant friendship.

Suddenly the world shifted again and Thor made a tiny noise as they were suddenly transported into a different room, by the look of it a library? Thor had no qualms about showing his confusion and displeasure about Strange's chosen mode of transport. Loki clenched his jaw tighter and willed away the nausea.

"What's this? A reading session?" Loki sneered, plastering a smug grin on his face. "Taking the role of babysitter too seriously? Going to read a picture book are we?" Thor's eyes flashed with warning and he hissed a quiet "Loki!" Between his teeth, none too subtly. Subtlety had never been his forte though. His forte had been smashing things with that hammer of his and being an insolent fool... at least until Odin died and Thor became king. He was proving better at that than Loki would have ever expected.

Strange, for his part, appeared as nonchalant as ever, although there could have been a slight tilt of amusement to his arrogant smirk. "I was thinking you could help me translate some texts, but if picture books are all you can manage..." Loki scoffed, and was in the process of retorting something degrading or offensive when ho and behold, Thor butted in like the stubborn son of Odin he was. "I hope my brother does not cause too much grief. I appreciate your generosity to take him on" the sincerity in Thor's voice surprised Loki a tiny bit. There could have even been fondness in there whilst referring to him?

Strange was polite in his response, but his eyes betrayed how he actually felt. Disdain and displeasure at being bridled with the silver tongued trickster. At least the feeling was mutual. "I would like to discuss with Loki before I take my leave" oh no, here it comes, the big brother lecture. Strange waved a hand in dismissal and wandered off somewhere into the library. Loki was surprised he was game to leave them on their own. He clearly didn't trust Loki, and after the disastrous wreck Thor had created last visit; it was a surprise they were even let back inside honestly.

Thor's hand came to rest heavily on Loki's shoulder and he startled slightly. It had been so long since they'd been open with one another, yet alone touch without the intention of harm... Loki didn't know how to take it. Thor sighed and fixed his intense gaze on Loki. "You mustn't cause too much harm brother, I don't know how much the people of earth are willing to forgive." Loki sneered, his eyes wandering from Thor's and roaming the library for sight of Strange's peculiar red and blue ensemble. "I hardly seek forgiveness."

The hand on Loki's shoulder squeezed a bit uncomfortably, and when Loki set his gaze back on Thor he caught a glimpse of who Thor really was now. Tired and sleep deprived, staying up to try and comfort his people. A being who had seen far too much and carried that weight on his shoulders. Added the weights his brother should be carrying, added the weights of Loki's bitterness and hatred and hurt because he thought it was his fault.

Loki sighed and dropped his gaze, pretending to stare transfixed at his nails when really he didn't want to keep staring at Thor and that blindpatch. "I'm not yours to fix, brother" at first he didn't even realise he'd said that out loud, but the quiet humm from Thor confirmed he had. "I know that Loki. I shouldn't trust you after all you've done, but I still do, and I still have hope in you." With that, Thor squeezed Loki's shoulder one last time and left. Loki watched him go, so many unspoken words resting on his tongue which he would never say, could never say, because it meant exposing himself to Thor, exposing how part of him hoped too. There was a time he would have told him. A long, long time ago when they were still boys and were unburdened by the beasts of men. How had they messed up so bad? When did it all go so bad? It was his fault no doubt.

"Going to stand there and mope? Or do I have to look at the pictures myself?" Loki hissed between his teeth in response to Strange's remark. Any 'accidents' in the unforeseeable future would not be his fault. In fact, even non accidents wouldn't be his fault considering this was all SHIELD's fault. Stark better not have bet much because Loki wasn't even going to last a day.

* * *

 _Thank you for reading! Hope you all liked this._


	2. Chapter 2

Surprisingly enough, the Parole wasn't as terrible as Loki had initially anticipated. He'd gotten through a full week of it without tearing out Strange's throat, quite the achievement if he did say so himself. That probably had something to do with the fact he hardly interacted with the man. Loki would arrive for Parole, sometimes punctual and sometimes exceedingly late in an attempt to annoy Strange. Yet the man was always there at the door to greet him and show Loki to the library, where he was to decipher tomes all day. After that Strange would wander off to his own desk, far enough away from Loki as to not interact, but close enough to keep an eye on him.

It hadn't bothered Loki at first. He didn't much like the man, and it ensured he kept to the conditions of his parole. Those conditions being: 'no maiming' or 'no killing' of said Sorcerer Supreme, incredibly boring conditions for the record. However, as the first week dragged by in a rather dull collection of tomes he sometimes translated and sometimes didn't, Loki grew incredibly bored. Maybe killing Strange and getting banished from Midgard would be worth it. At least he'd get some slight amusement before he was eternally dammed. If he stayed like this he may as well be eternally dammed anyway.

* * *

"Odinson" Loki couldn't help the tension those words caused in his jaw. Even after a week of greeting by that title it still irked him tremendously. "Ah, Strange; do you do anything besides stand there all day?" Loki said as he waltzed past Strange, leading himself to the library. A smirk slipped onto Loki's lips when he saw Strange frown at his back and have to follow after him. "Obviously not" Strange replied dryly. Loki couldn't help but snort. "Mortal lives are short aren't they? Don't waste yours waiting around for me all day." There was a momentary pause, the only sound being that of a cloak swishing and shoes tapping on the floor, until Strange decided to grace Loki with his words once again. "Oh I wouldn't wait"

The floor suddenly plummeted and fell out from under Loki in a brilliant light show of golden sparks. He felt himself being whisked around for a moment before another portal opened up and Loki was dumped from the ceiling to the floor. Again. "I see you've lost none of your grace" Strange chuckled. Loki growled in response and pulled his sprawled limbs up off the floor, whirling around to face Strange with his daggers at hand and a snarl on his face. Strange smirked at Loki and made a circular motion before gesturing to Loki's feet again.

That was it. Sorry Thor, Asgard, sorry Stark and his idiotic bet. Loki was going to slit Strange's throat and watch the life drain from his eyes. Watch blood stain that red cloak of his a more fetching shade of scarlet.

Strange began to pull up another portal, prompting Loki to jump into action. He wasn't going to be caught a third time with that child's trick. Loki braced himself to spring whatever way he needed, whatever way was required to get out of the range of the portal but... he hadn't needed to. Strange stepped through the portal instead and Loki, debating between what that could mean, jumped in behind him.

Shit. The little piece of utter shit. Strange was leant against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest and cloak billowing behind him, looking bored, as if he'd been waiting here a while. Which he hadn't. He smirked up at Loki and his eyes danced with amusement. "I can't believe you ratted on me" Loki said, trying to keep his voice smooth and calm despite the utter rage seething inside of him and trying to burst out like the flames of Ragnarok. He slowly slipped his daggers away, making sure he retained eye contact with Strange, silently communicating the message of 'this isn't over'.

There was an audible sigh and Loki turned to stare defiantly at Thor, his chin lifted high and eyes gleaming wickedly. Thor, although trying, just looked amused rather than angry. It was a better look than the usual disappointment cast Loki's way. He didn't mind it.

"Loki, what did I tell you about the conditions?" Thor asked sternly, though his eye still held a visible twinkle. "I really don't recall would you care to recite them?" Loki feigned innocence, flashing his most charming smile. Strange snorted and Loki turned to glare at him. "No maiming me. No killing me. No harm of any sort is to come to me." Strange stated, ticking off on his fingers for emphasis. "Oh, those don't sound right? Are you sure?" Loki asked. "No back chatting, that was one" Strange snapped.

Thor snorted and even Loki felt his trademark smirk slip back into place. "That one was definitely on the list, I remember that one. Why don't you enlighten us with the rest of them? I'm sure there were many more." Loki did actually remember the conditions of his 'Parole', but diverting Strange and Thor's anger away from him with humour seemed to be working.

Strange grinned at Loki, causing something funny to tingle up his back. Weird, must be something to do with being near another sorcerer. Although Frigga had never had that affect, had she?

"I'll email the list to you!" Whatever that meant seemed to have Strange incredibly amused as he disappeared back into a circle of golden sparks. Loki could swear he even heard the man actually laugh. Strange man. Loki turned to Thor with a raised eyebrow. "What's an email?" Thor had a little furrow between his brow, a tell tale sign he was trying to understand something. "An Electronic Letter. I do not understand why it is amusing though."

* * *

"You know what I think brother? I think you are not used to having an equal!" Loki tripped and spluttered, turning wide and bewildered green eyes to Thor. "An equal? Strange? An EQUAL!?" He squawked in outrage. "If you think that mortal is my equal just because he knows a few party tricks! Blasphemy Thor." Honestly the nerve of Thor. Loki had lived for Millenia, practiced the art of magic sooner than he could talk. How could a mere mortal ever hope to be compared to him. Strange wasn't even at the level Loki was at two years old- no scratch that, two weeks old at most!

Thor chucked, holding up a hand and hitting Loki on the back with it, causing him to stumble forward again. Curse his smaller body. "Maybe not your equal, but competition no?" Loki scoffed in response, causing Thor to raise his eyebrow and grin wider. "Remember that time he sent you through the portal and-" Loki hissed and stomped his foot "don't you dare" Thor remained unfazed. "And sent you falling for thirty minutes! Then when you went to attack him like the angry oversized child you are he sent you through another and you landed so gracefully in that grass!" Thor bellowed, his voice resonating and dramatic as if he was telling one of his grand adventures he so loved. Loki sighed and pulled a face at Thor. "Yes I clearly remember. You only remind me every day."

Thor laughed deep in his chest and stopped walking, stopping Loki with an arm too. "I do not wish to bring shame brother, I just wanted to remind you. Perhaps this Strange is not as bad as you think he is? You could teach each other magic tricks perhaps?" Loki pulled a face at Thor, but he just stared back definitely. The eyepatch had either given Thor diplomatic abilities he previously lacked, or Loki had just gotten better at listening. Nah, magic eyepatch it was. "Fine I will deal with him." Loki stated blandly. Thor smiled at him and patted his arm gently before turning to go. "I could teach him that snake trick? Remember that one?" Thor yelled in protest but Loki had already bolted down the hall, laughter reverberating across the walls in glee.

* * *

All things considering, the 'snake incident' as he dubbed it, had not gone down as well as Loki would have liked. Loki had gone to the effort of looking up venomous snakes. That was an ordeal in itself. He'd had to cast an illusion on himself to appear as somebody else, then ask for help... help of all things! It had worked though, as the mortal he interrogated for information successfully provided it after staring into something called "Google". Loki would have to ask somebody about that, it sounded quite powerful and useful.

Anyway, Loki had successfully received the name of "Cobra" and after being shown pictures, knew what it looked like. He'd followed Strange into the library the next day without protest, cast an illusion of himself at his desk, and snuck off. Loki hid behind a bookshelf, transformed himself into the 'Cobra', and lied in wait. Quite devious. However it had not worked out to his favour...

Strange had walked past Loki, put a book away and replaced it with two new ones tucked under his arm, and then spotted Loki. Loki reared up and hissed. Strange squinted at Loki for a moment, snorted in amusement, and then waved his arm in some sort of motion. The world around them seemed to crack, millions of tiny little fractures running up along an invisible surface in front of Loki. Strange smirked at Loki and promptly returned to his desk.

Ass. Loki recognised the mirror dimension when he saw it. He could breach the barrier himself after all. What he could not do though, as much as it pained him, was travel via portal. Thus, he was trapped inside this dimension and Strange seemed to know it, the smug bastard. That still baffled Loki. How was it that Strange had mastered portals in his short mortal lifespan, yet Loki had not been able to learn it within Millenia? Frigga had been able to and tried to teach Loki several times, but Loki was too stubborn and never liked help. He wishes he had of now. Not just because it would get him out of here, but because it was Frigga. He still had a lot of intrusive thoughts about her. Maybe if he had of known how to he would have been able to escape Odin's prison, been able to save her. He'd at least have gotten to spend more time with her.

Loki shifted back into his Asgardian form. It did not do well to dwell on those thoughts. After all, Frigga, Odin, and all of Asgard were gone now. Whatever emotions he still held for them were of no use anymore. He should put it to rest. Easier said then done though.

* * *

"You're allowed out now. Play nice" Strange stated with a smug expression. Many hours had passed since Loki had been trapped in the mirror dimension, and 'playing nice' was the last thing he wanted to do, but he chose to ignore Strange's comment. Loki stepped towards Strange menacingly and jabbed a finger into his chest. "How do you manipulate portals?" He demanded. Strange raised an eyebrow and his lip quirked up at the side. "You're telling me the oh so mighty, God Loki, does not know how to create a portal?" Strange's voice could be described as nothing short of mockery. Loki hissed, his green eyes narrowing and gleaming dangerously. "If you don't tell me-" Strange waved his hand dismissively, turning his back to Loki and stepping away. "If I don't tell you, nothing will happen. Because if you try anything I'll lock you away again. Maybe for good." Oh how dare he. Loki was seething. He clenched his fists, relaxed his hands, then clenched them again for good measure. Maybe if he imagined them closing around Strange's throat. "Fine" he grit out between clenched teeth.

Loki took in a deep breath, trying to desperately cling to the tangled and thin threads that were his control. "Can I at least ask why the snake did not prompt a more suited reaction?" The man hadn't even flinched. He could have at least admired him like Thor had. No, Loki had gone too far. How dare he compare a fellow sorcerer, as unimpressive as he was, to Thor the almighty Oaf. Snake Incident 1 had been pure comedic gold though; one of Loki's finest tricks.

Strange turned back around to face Loki, the hint of an actual smile on his face. "As impressive an illusion as it was it's just not convincing" Strange stated. Loki raised an eyebrow. Not convincing his ass, he'd spent centuries perfecting his illusions. They had even fooled Frigga at times. "How so?" He asked. Strange grinned and held up a hand. He pinched the fingers together so that they were only a hair's breadth away from touching. "One tiny flaw. Cobras aren't native here." Loki gasped scandalised at the revelation. "That liar! Google is a cheat!"

* * *

 _Authors note:_

 _Ah look who finally updated! Hopefully you all enjoyed this. It's gonna pick up soon in both romance and plot (so long as my ass figures out how to write that) so hang tight for that_ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 _Always feel free to drop constructive criticism, ask for specific scenes, or just let me know what you think._

 _Thanks once again for reading!_

 _cheers_


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